August 14th came and went pretty fast, so I am now getting around to updating my blog.
When I set out on this venture.. it was really more like a 'dare' I didn't really believe I could do a triathlon, but as the date came closer and closer, I was able to reassure myself and say "HELL YAY"
I can do this.
Training was a struggle from everything... finding time, weather, motivation. All three factor's affected everything thing, every day. Motivation was the worst, and when you have a brain like mine, turning things off, is pretty easy. Discouragement is my worst enemy.
Keep in mind, this was a small triathlon. A sprint to be exact. What entails for a sprint, well you need to be able to swim 750 metres, ride 20 km and run 5 km. Piece of cake.. Right ?!
The first part of my training in swimming was pretty easy, Or at least I had thought so, however I did not have the speed. It had been 10 years since I had last swam. I was a competitive swimmer in the 1980's and early 90's, but interest changes, work gets in the way, and I found that I didn't really enjoy the sport anymore.
First time I jumped in the pool, I swam 1 km and it took me 40 mins. I had my 2 bosses with me. No pressure there !
And all I could think, what have I gotten myself into... I can barely keep up. I had to stop at the end of every 50 metres. I was totally out of breath. Plus I was still getting over a strained ACL from skiing so, i was having to wear support gear on my knee. Perseverance did prevail.
I continued to work at swimming for the next 7 months, slowing increasing my time.
Swimming was hardest thing to fit into training schedule, as time is so limited to pool schedules. However I did find the right pool, with the right hours.
Most of my training was at the Canada Games Pool in New Westminster, BC, They had a nice section permanently laid out for lanes. It is ironic though, this is the pool I learned to swim in, in 1971 and had many competitions there over the years. Familiar environment to me, but yet swimming not so familiar anymore.
The easy easy easy part of the training, was bicycling ! So many opportunities to get on a bike. Ride to work, ride in the evening, ride with a club... you name it,, you can ride. and Find lots of people to ride with ! Well sort of...
First Challenge was to get a bike. I had my trusty Electric bike for a number of years, but obviously if I was going to go through a challenge like this, i need to find something a little more challenging.
I looked at bikes, tried some out, but I didn't really know what I needed or wanted.
Until I got a text message from my friend Keith, who had figured it out. The next day, i went over to the neighbourhood bike store, and looked a couple bikes. I ended up with a Specialize Dolce, woman's version. Its a nice bike with easy gearing to get started on a triathlon.
For 2 months, I rode a bit back and forth from Port Moody to Vancouver, and on the weekends I would ride out towards Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge.
Keith had said... Join the Cap's club... so I hesitated for quite sometime, because every-time I asked about the club, I was told that I needed to be able to ride a minimum of 30kph. When I took my first ride with the club, it averaged at 22kph.. so needless to say, I should have just listened to Keith... and joined the club.
Running, shutter... that's the worst part of the training for me... I am not a runner.. yet I have run plenty of races in my younger years, and did quite well. Running
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